Contents

Intro

Rules

Instructions

Turn on the Argon Gas bottle at the wall rack. Remember that the seal system for inert gas only completely seals the stem at full closed and full open. Turn the knob in the desired direction until it stops. When the TIG machine is turned on, you can adjust the argon flow (watch the red ball in the vertical glass tube).

Check the power switch on the junction box on the wall. Is it turned on?

Quirks of the I3 P&H TIG machine.

Sometimes the foot pedal sticks just enough to turn on the solenoid. This is very bad, particularly if you are using a non-auto-darkening face shield. It's too easy to flash your eyes in error. it can also waste copious amount of shielding gas. Best action, is to ensure foot pedal is at top of stroke before you turn on the machine.

Argon use. The machine flows some amount of argon gas whenever the machine is turned on. Argon gas is expensive. This means that if it's going to be more than a couple minutes between welds, turn off the machine when you have finished your weld, and don’t turn it on again until just before you are ready to use it again.

When done welding, completely remove the regulator from the argon bottle, and close and cap the bottle.

High Frequency -- The switch has 3 settings, Start, Off, and Continuous. HF provides a secondary electrical wave that jumps gaps much more easily, but doesn't really make much heat. It's used to help start the arc for DC welding (Start) and to help maintain the arc during AC welding (Continuous).

HF can disrupt radio communications, so if you plan to listen to music while welding Aluminium, an MP3 player is going to work better than a radio. This can also cause a conflict if somebody is testing their ham radio in the space.

Duty Cycle -- The machine has a duty cycle of 60% at full capacity, meaning that it should be given a 4 minute break after 6 minutes of solid welding. This only becomes a concern when welding really thick materials, as the duty cycle goes up to 100% pretty fast as the amperage is reduced. If you are welding with the machine in the "High" range on DC or the upper "Middle" Range on AC, make sure you understand what that means for the duty cycle. If you are on Low range or Middle/DC, no worries.

When you are ready to start welding, tap the pedal once (press and release) to get the Argon flowing (purges the line). Then, with the argon flowing but the current off (not pushing the pedal), touch the electrode to the work. Lift the electrode to welding distance, and press pedal again to start the arc.

If you don't touch the electrode to the workpiece right before welding, the HF will often refuse to start, requiring a scratch start, which is harder to perform properly and more likely to contaminate the weld and the electrode.

I have no idea why this works this way. I don't know if this is a bug or a feature. Any theories would be welcome.

Machine settings: What material are you welding?

Steel? If you are using steel:

Set the Polarity Selector Switch (large three position switch on the right hand lower area) to the full clockwise position, Direct Current Straight Polarity (DC Electrode Negative).

Use the red tungstens (2% Thoriated) for DC TIG welding.

Set High Frequency to Start.

Dial in your range based on the thickness of the metal. Low range for thin sheet, Mid range for thick sheet, High range for plate

Aluminum? If you are using aluminum:

Set the Polarity Selector Switch to the full counterclockwise position, Alternating Current (AC).

Use the green tungstens (pure tungsten) for AC TIG welding.

Set High Frequency to Continuous.

The range should be similar to that for steel

Other metal? Depending on the metal you want to weld, you may or may not be able to use this machine, but there will most likely be several adjustments needed. Do your research first, and when you are confident you understand the needs of your material, go ahead and see if you can get results. Recording your results here would be greatly appreciated!

Maintenance Info

Spark Gap

The welding arc should start immediately while High Frequency is on Start or Continuous. If it doesn't, verify that the front panel controls are set properly. If it still doesn't, the spark gap may need maintenance as described in Figure 3-8 of the online manual. The manual recommends a 3 month or 250 hour interval for spark gap maintenance.

Unplug the welder.

Remove the right-hand side panel.

Locate the high-voltage capacitor, which is a few inches from the spark gap, and connected to it with a short wire. Manually discharge this capacitor through a conductor that is not a living organism.

Leave the center spark gap electrode bolted tightly in place.

Loosen the bolt that holds down one of the end electrodes. Insert an 0.006 feeler gauge into the gap, push the end electrode hard enough to squeeze the feeler gauge, and tighten the bolt. Verify that you feel a slight resistance when you slide the feeler gauge through the gap.

Repeat the previous step for the other end electrode.

If you need to clean or resurface the electrodes, which is unlikely, take care to maintain the parallel alignment of the gap.

Put back the side panel, and plug the welder back in.

The spark gap was last adjusted on 2013-15-04 by Dave Scholl and Jody Raiford.

It was discovered by Dave Scholl that the Phase Shift Rheostat has failed (broken resistive wire). This failure means that there is no high frequency start for some Phase Shift settings. Jody Raiford has found that the high frequency start will work (but not very well) if the Phase Shift knob is set somewhere to the right of approximately 2:00 (analog clock position) and a higher-than-normal intensity is used. A replacement rheostat has been ordered (4/19/2013) and is expected to arrive in a couple of months.

FAQ

ToDo

Other

New Developments

Water pump for water cooled torch!

A group of us ( Jody, Justin, Jason, Andrew) started working on revamping the water cooler donated to the space (by Nate Bezanson?)

Set the large Output Control knob to desired setting. The foot pedal will control the actually amperage output to the maximum set on the dial. If you need less heat, back off on the foot pedal. If you need more heat, press the foot pedal further down.

There are two small black dials on the right hand side of the machine, These are for the high frequency start circuit. Normally both of these knobs are set such that the white indicator line on the knob is vertical.

Getting ready to weld.

Prepare all of your materials. Ensure you have clean metal, including stainless steel wire brush on all aluminum to remove the surface coat of aluminum oxide.

As a general rule, set tungsten extension “stick out” distance equal to the diameter of the electrode. You may have to extend it further to reach some welds as required, but note this makes it harder to ensure inert gas coverage, etc.

As a rule of thumb, while TIG welding, arc length (the distance between the end of the electrode and the work piece) is: One electrode diameter for A/C TIG welding, and usually considerably less for D/C TIG welding. Be careful to not allow the hot electrode to contact the weld puddle, or the filler rod. If you do touch, you will see a flash of light, and molten material will wick up and contaminate the tungsten electrode. When that happens, you should stop, regrind the electrode.